Tech Grads Achieve High Rate of Ph.D.s

by Kathleen Hedges

Socorro, N.M., Feb. 1, 1999 -- New Mexico Tech graduates continue to rank high in their rate of achieving Ph.D. degrees. A recent study published by the National Science Foundation (NSF-96-334) cataloged the baccalaureate institution of doctorate recipients who received their Ph.D. degrees in science or engineering between 1991 and 1995. New Mexico Tech ranked sixth of 690 "specialized institutions" in terms of total numbers Ph.D. recipients produced from its baccalaureate graduates. Three of the five institutions ahead of New Mexico Tech in this ranking were the three military academies.

The success in graduate programs is a continuation of a study reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education (August 7, 1985) in which New Mexico Tech ranked 28th out of 1500 institutions in the percentage of its B. S. recipients who received Ph.D.s in science or engineering that were awarded between 1951 and 1980. In that study, Tech was tied with Cornell and Johns Hopkins.